Talk:Hallelujah (song)

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1 Clarification
2 Chord progression
3 Chord Progression, part 2
4 Song not written by Cohen?
5 Rammestein (Spelling?)=

[edit] Clarification

"Rufus Wainwright also covered the track, emphasizing the piano – and his version was included on the Shrek soundtrack in 2001, although it was John Cale's recording from the tribute album I'm Your Fan that inspired Wainwright's and was used in the film itself. (Wainwright apparently replaced him on the soundtrack because he is signed with Dreamworks SKG and Cale is not.) The Shrek theme music was also based on "Hallelujah."
I think this means that the music in the Shrek movie is Cale's version while the one on the CD Soundtrack is Wainwright. The first sentence isn't clear though. How about;
Rufus Wainwright covered the song, with an emphasis on the piano. This version was inspired by John Cale's recording from the tribute album I'm Your Fan. Cale's version is used in a scene from the movie Shrek, while Wainwright's is used on the Shrek soundtrack album, due to Wainwright being signed to Dreamworks SKG. The theme music for Shrek was influenced by "Hallelujah."

Ozchrisb 16:44 28 October 2006 (AEST)

I've heard that Cohen actually covered this song. However, I have not acquired any credible sources for the statement - is it a myth or what?

Jobjörn 13:48, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

What do you mean covered this song? He wrote and first performed this song.--Prosfilaes 14:38, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Chord progression

If the tonic is C-major, what chord does ^V/_vi denote? I've half a mind to change it back. – Hattrem 16:27, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

You first treat vi (A minor) as a temporary tonic, and then take the V (E major). The "V/vi" symbol describes what the chord really does, while "III" is non-standard and looks like it's supposed to be the relative major of a minor key (but you're in major). rspeer / ɹəədsɹ 23:43, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Thank you! – Hattrem 17:15, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

It's a beautiful chord. I think it's what makes this song so great. This song is in C, so it is a secondary dominant on the vi chord, Am. In normal diatonic harmony, the iii chord should be minor, but by making it major, you have a really nice leading tone to the vi chord (G#-A). Coming from the V chord initially provides a really nice chromatic bass movement. I'm pretty sure the bass moves from a G to a G# and then to an A in the recording, and that would be the most ideal movement. Anyways, that's my little music theory blurb for the day. This song is still absolutely gorgeous, whether it's because of a secondary dominant or not :-p. Kntrabssi 17:32, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

So... What's going on with that chord... the V/vi describes the chord correctly... what's there doesn't make senese...

[edit] Chord Progression, part 2

While roman numeral analysis is appropriate here because of the self-reference in the song, it is not the best idea to attempt to list the actual chords. First of all, different recordings of this song will naturally be in different keys. Secondly, as was a previous issue, it is difficult to tell whether the borrowed chord, the E major chord, is a seventh chord or not. In theory, it is the best idea, obviously, because it serves as a false dominant to the false tonic that follows it. However, since the only actual way of verifying this truthfully would be to get the music from Leonard Cohen, it is not Wikipedia's place to list something like that here. Thus, I have removed the chords, but left the Roman numerals and the part about the self-reference. Kntrabssi 02:54, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Song not written by Cohen?

I don´t think the song is written by Leonard Cohen. See this YouTube video. In it he says that Icelandic performer Gunnbjörg Ólafsdottir (though I´m not sure on the name as it´s really hard for me to catch) did the original and gave him the record. --Thor Andersen 10:08, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

He doesn't say she recorded the original in that video. In fact, when he talks about it afterward, it sounds like hers is a cover, and he's trying to remember his original verses to glean what she is singing when.

There are two versions of the song that Cohen himself has recorded. The original version from 1984's Various Positions, and one with different verses from 1988's Cohen Live. When Cohen says in that interview that she recorded "the original", he is indicating the version of the song (the choice of verses), not the authorship. Leonard Cohen is most definitely the author of this song. Kraken137 05:25, 22 February 2007 (UTC)